Sweet Potato Pie

The Sweet Potato Pie is an old-fashioned Thanksgiving pie with a rich flavor and great texture. Of course, that doesn’t mean you couldn’t make it all year round if you wanted to!

It’s a great hearty pie. If you haven’t tried one before, you really must.

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Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

Classic holiday pie

This is the traditional classic recipe I have made for years.

I’ve made it for my friends and for my friends’ mamas.

And it always gets rave reviews (and I consider the mamas a tough audience).

I love the flavor of this Southern pie, and it’s so easy to make. Want to try more Southern snacks? Check out my Boiled Peanuts!

It always makes me wonder why people buy pies from the grocery store or the big box club stores, when it doesn’t take that long to make a delicious homemade pie from scratch. And, I mean this is way better than any store-bought pie.

I think it’s time we stopped overlooking the delicious classic sweet potato pie (and just making pumpkin pies). Make them both! There’s room at the table for all pies!

And if you want to try other sweet potato desserts check out this Sweet Potato Pudding Cake.

Looking for other great holiday pies?

Make sure to check out the BEST pumpkin pie ever!

Sweet Potato Pies vs. Pumpkin pies

Sweet Potato Pie is similar to pumpkin pie, but typically not as sweet as pumpkin.

It’s also a little less custardy, or denser, than most pumpkin pies.

Sweet potato and pumpkin pies are both custard pies, and all custard pies are made with eggs, dairy, and sugar.

So there are similarities, besides just that pretty orange color.

Traditional sweet potato pie has a higher purée-to-custard ratio and fewer spices, which ends up with that denser more earthy flavor.

Sweet potatoes vs. yams

That brings up another topic about differences. Sweet potatoes vs. yams.

Now, I know that there is a technical difference between the two. And, you’re welcome to read all about those differences on the internet.

I’d start off reading Wikipedia on sweet potatoes and then read up on yams.

But, honestly, people are going to call them whatever they want. Or, maybe they call them whatever their mom called them.

Either way, for this recipe, you want the red-skinned and orange-fleshed root vegetable.

How to cook sweet potatoes

In my recipe I suggest that you microwave the sweet potatoes.

It’s very quick and easy to do this.

And the microwave mimics the baked sweet potato very well.

Don’t let them overcook in the microwave; keep an eye on them.

They will cook a bit unevenly, but that’s ok. You can cut off the cooked parts and pop it back in the microwave, or simply scrape around the burnt parts when scooping out the cooked flesh.

Microwave tip

Make sure to piece the potatoes with a fork several times.

Piercing the potatoes not only allows the steam to escape from the potato, making for a lighter fluffy baked sweet potato.

But, piercing the potatoes helps to make sure that the pressure doesn’t build up in the potato and, if that happens, they could burst in your microwave.

And, you don’t want that to happen!

Can I bake the sweet potatoes in the oven?

Could you bake them in the oven for this recipe? Absolutely.

Oven baked sweet potatoes are delicious, and you will avoid some of that uneven cooking that the microwave produces.

But, they take about an hour to bake. Whereas 2 large sweet potatoes cooked in the microwave took me 8 minutes (and yes, my microwave is super powerful, so it may take you a little longer than that).

If you want to bake them, heat the oven to 375°F. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, and pierce them several times with a fork.

Bake the sweet potatoes until tender, about 1 hour.

Can I cook the sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot?

Yes, you can cook them in the pressure cooker! Read more tips in my Holiday Sweet Potatoes post.

Add 1 cup water to the pressure cooker. Place the steaming trivet on the bottom of the pressure cooker insert, and lay the sweet potatoes on top of the trivet. Secure the lid onto the pressure cooker, and turn the valve to lock the seal.

Use manual mode and set on pressure cook, high, for 18 minutes.

Allow the device to depressurize “natural release” (do nothing after the cooking time goes off – the Instant Pot will automatically go to Warm and pressure will slowly release naturally).

This takes about 10-15 minutes. Pressure valve will lower. Carefully remove the lid, and check for doneness by piercing with a fork.

Can I boil the potatoes?

You could boil the peeled sweet potatoes if you wanted. But I don’t recommend that.

The added moisture that boiling brings is not great for pies.

Pie baking tips

This recipe makes one deep-dish pie.

If you don’t have a deep-dish pan, you may have leftover filling.

If this is the case, simply pour the filling into small ramekins and bake on the side.

The ramekins will take less time to bake than the whole pie, so check early them for doneness, probably about 15-20 minutes early.

You want to bake the pie until it’s puffy around the edges, and the center is just set, but has a little wiggle still in it.

The pie will continue to cook as it sits on the counter cooling. It will also deflate quite a bit.

It’s also much easier to cut once it has cooled down completely. I know! You’ll be tempted to cut into it right away, but give it a few to cool down before diving in.

Pie crust

Use your favorite pie crust for this pie, whether that’s a store-bought crust or a from scratch crust. Use whatever makes you happy.

The one trick that you should not miss in this pie is brushing the egg white on the crust.

It makes for a deliciously crispy perfectly browned crust.

If you use the crust from the refrigerator section of the grocery store, make sure to follow the package directions on thawing before you roll out the dough.

I have found a frozen pie crust that I like. If you use a frozen crust, there’s no need to defrost it.

Simply do the egg wash on the crust, fill it, and bake.

You do not need to prebake, or blind bake the crust for this recipe.

If you prefer to blind bake, you can do so. And, my lovely friend at Lovefoodies has some great tips on how to blind bake crust.

Want to try making your own crust from scratch?

Here are some great recipes from my friends:

Flaky butter pie crust from Num’s the Word
Flaky sour cream pie crust from Serena Bakes Simply from Scratch
Shortcrust pastry from Lovefoodies
Flaky buttery crust from Culinary Ginger

What is whipping cream?

The ingredients in this pie call for whipping cream.

“What is whipping cream?”, you may ask.

Most well-stocked grocery stores will carry whipping cream in a carton in the dairy section of the store, and it’s probably right next to the heavy whipping cream.

Whipping cream is a liquid, much like milk or cream, that you pour out of a carton.

It is not whipped cream that you squirt out of a can.

If your store doesn’t carry whipping cream, you may use heavy whipping cream.

Please do not use whipped cream out of a can in this recipe. Whipped cream is yummy on top of this pie, though.

The difference between whipping cream and heavy whipping cream is the fat content.

Whipping cream, or light whipping cream, is lighter in fat and flavor than heavy cream, and contains 30% to 35% milk fat.

Heavy cream, or heavy whipping cream, must contain at least 36% or more milk fat. 

Whipping cream, when used in this pie, will not be a heavy as heavy whipping cream, and will produce a nicer pie.

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Kitchen tools you may need for this recipe

Deep dish pie pan
Potato masher
Mixing bowls
Pastry brush
Whipped cream dispenser
Whipped cream dispenser refills/chargers

Sweet Potato Pie Recipe